HIM: I apologize for this blog in advance.
Okay, so I don't spend a lot of time checking out video game hype or surfing the web for game news (except for Resident Evil on the Wii...), but I came across this article and it made me remember why today's consoles make my blood boil. First, I want to preface this discussion with the note that I currently own an Xbox (the OLD one, not 360) and a Wii (which I am VERY happy with). My aunt borrowed my PS2 and it turned up missing... Regardless, I was lucky enough to have a Commodore 64, Atari, and Nintendo in my more formative years, and a Sega Genesis later on. Having been there since the beginning of console gaming (and the discovery of the wheel, as some of you may suggest... ;) I can say with a clear, unbiased view that some companies in today's gaming industry are disturbingly irresponsible (dare I suggest, much like certain finance organizations) and unworthy of the benefit of a bargained for exchange of cash for goods...
Microsoft Xbox 360
I loved playing Halo in co-op mode with my little sister Annie on the original Xbox system. She rocked and I'd love to have her at my side in a deep space firefight. "There's a grenade on your LEG!" =) However, the current system's stole away my faith in the franchise. At a $400 minimum for Microsoft's Xbox 360, the company wouldn't let purchasers return it to retail stores for a refund because they new gamers would take their business elsewhere. Junkbox 360 owners had to mail in their machines to a central storehouse that would process it and then mail them back someone else's defective and "repaired" machine. It was offensive to me, hearing that so many friends were waiting months for their 2nd or even 3rd "refurbished" Junkbox. I was a faithful Xbox owner before the 360's release, but wouldn't trust Microsoft to make a widget now. This article shows the depth of executive problems at the heart of Microsoft's management. This won't change, no matter how they try to sweep it under the table. I imagine shareholders should be rightly sceptical of in-house research suggesting "gamers have largely forgiven" Microsoft's poor development and support, no matter how tightly the company clings to the Halo franchise. Unless I can get a WORKING (1 in 10 still are not...) model for $10, I doubt I could forgive execs for knowingly shoving a broken product out to the loading dock. In the course of typing this paragraph, my Internet Explorer (also a Microsoft program) nearly crashed twice... lol
Nintendo Wii
Sebastian and I visited a game store and played a demo version of Mario Galaxy (which we still haven't purchased yet!) we had a hard time finding a Wii when we were looking. That seems to be a huge marketing strategy for Nintendo. If demand is high, then prices will remain there also. At the time that the other systems were being consumed, they were clearly aware that it was possible to keep a half-next-gen system on the same shelves. If it weren't for the fact that the wiimote is so darn cool (think arcade games in your living room) it would be hard to compare the system to the other, clearly, next-generation consoles. Developers seem to say that Nintendo, as a whole, is not very accomodating. Also, it appears that the company is not very good about getting the same new releases as other consoles. Good stuff. We'll be using our Wii for a while.
Sony Playstation 3
I don't have much to say about the Sony Playstation 3, it seems the least offensive of the three other current-gen systems. I had a playstation 2 (which seems to be going stronger than it's latest incarnation...), so I had a stake in Sony's success, but Great graphics, effective marketing, lots of supported new games, and a GIANT price tag to reflect it ensure that you're probably better off keeping your PS2 under the TV and your cash in-hand.
Consumers: All this being said, the market determines how much a console system goes for (or used to anyway...), and if consumers actually want to pay the money for a shoddy product it's their own fault for not letting demand fall flat and waiting for the inevitable price drop. Every three-to-four years, companies release a new system at temporarily laughable prices with plenty of bugs. Plan accordingly.
Developers: We'll wait for a good product. Don't sign off on it when it's not ready. It makes us mad. We won't buy your next-next-gen system. =) Seriously.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
This Semester...
HER: Finally back!!! Hopefully this time we will be able to sit and keep up with narrating the latest from us in Jacksonville.
Like everyone, life has been pretty busy for us. Trying to fill in fun activities in between of our busy schedules.
Sebastian started going to a new school.
After returning from Peru, we took the decision of finding what was best for Sebastian's interests and education.
Being born late September, it was known to us by Florida Legislature that he would be losing the school year, so it became a bit difficult for us to find a place where he would feel encourage to keep learning. Notorious change with language expression, behaviour, interests and developed skills. Sebastian at 4 was reading, had become bilingual, had developed deep interest in science and knew a few concepts like precipitation, evaporation and had become a very enthusiastic learner. We picked a private Jewish school (http://www.jcajax.edu/), two months into the school year, I can honestly say it has been such a great choice. He absolutely loves his teacher and she has done such a fine job in keeping the kids interested by stimulating them with a number of fun and interesting activities. About a month ago, they brought an incubator to the school and kept a few eggs. The kids were counting down the days for the eggs to hatch with much excitement. Sebastian was thrilled that the eggs were probably going to start hatching a couple of days before his birthday was thinking double calculations daily. Finally the day came and he start announcing the birth of the chicks and that is all he talked about at home. They also keep a garden with organic vegetables and herbs, which he loves to talk about also.
Daily prayers at the table during dinner... Sebastian in many occasions has volunteered to say the blessing. Recently we noticed he started praying in Hebrew and English.
We were lucky to find a safe and fun environment.
Weekly routines like Monday or Tuesday nights at chick-fil-a, book store, Starbucks, baking at home.
Duke and Dexter have adapted very well to our family =). We are so lucky they are so awesome and so much fun too !!!. I am thrilled and extremely joyous we have incorporated new fun family activities... We take them for walks to the beach, doggy parks (which they have absolutely love to play at, obstacle courses, freedom to run and water! THEY LOVE THE WATER! they are so funny, I just enjoy watching them play. It is incredible how safe I feel during my late-night walks around the neighborhood and they are just puppies! I am very proud to say I am also fighting my fear against bigger dogs.
Work at Bistro Aix is just so much fun. I absolutely love what I do everyday. It has been busy too. We have recruited a whole new line crew after struggling with constant changes I think we finally have a solid group of team players that are willing and that is exciting to announce.
This week we are starting a new menu as well. New sexy dishes coming from the kitchen!.
Now that we are balancing the activities and getting some sort of routine, I am planning to squeeze in some yoga to my Monday nights. I can't wait!
Frank's school is going very well. He has been occupied working on an ALWR paper and putting his resume together.
I am very excited for him. He really seems to be enjoying this semester very much.
There are a couple of classes that much of his interest and I am thrill to hear that.
Sebastian and I are very proud of him for his imput and taught work he puts towards it =).
TE AMAMOS!
Like everyone, life has been pretty busy for us. Trying to fill in fun activities in between of our busy schedules.
Sebastian started going to a new school.
After returning from Peru, we took the decision of finding what was best for Sebastian's interests and education.
Being born late September, it was known to us by Florida Legislature that he would be losing the school year, so it became a bit difficult for us to find a place where he would feel encourage to keep learning. Notorious change with language expression, behaviour, interests and developed skills. Sebastian at 4 was reading, had become bilingual, had developed deep interest in science and knew a few concepts like precipitation, evaporation and had become a very enthusiastic learner. We picked a private Jewish school (http://www.jcajax.edu/), two months into the school year, I can honestly say it has been such a great choice. He absolutely loves his teacher and she has done such a fine job in keeping the kids interested by stimulating them with a number of fun and interesting activities. About a month ago, they brought an incubator to the school and kept a few eggs. The kids were counting down the days for the eggs to hatch with much excitement. Sebastian was thrilled that the eggs were probably going to start hatching a couple of days before his birthday was thinking double calculations daily. Finally the day came and he start announcing the birth of the chicks and that is all he talked about at home. They also keep a garden with organic vegetables and herbs, which he loves to talk about also.
Daily prayers at the table during dinner... Sebastian in many occasions has volunteered to say the blessing. Recently we noticed he started praying in Hebrew and English.
We were lucky to find a safe and fun environment.
Weekly routines like Monday or Tuesday nights at chick-fil-a, book store, Starbucks, baking at home.
Duke and Dexter have adapted very well to our family =). We are so lucky they are so awesome and so much fun too !!!. I am thrilled and extremely joyous we have incorporated new fun family activities... We take them for walks to the beach, doggy parks (which they have absolutely love to play at, obstacle courses, freedom to run and water! THEY LOVE THE WATER! they are so funny, I just enjoy watching them play. It is incredible how safe I feel during my late-night walks around the neighborhood and they are just puppies! I am very proud to say I am also fighting my fear against bigger dogs.
Work at Bistro Aix is just so much fun. I absolutely love what I do everyday. It has been busy too. We have recruited a whole new line crew after struggling with constant changes I think we finally have a solid group of team players that are willing and that is exciting to announce.
This week we are starting a new menu as well. New sexy dishes coming from the kitchen!.
Now that we are balancing the activities and getting some sort of routine, I am planning to squeeze in some yoga to my Monday nights. I can't wait!
Frank's school is going very well. He has been occupied working on an ALWR paper and putting his resume together.
I am very excited for him. He really seems to be enjoying this semester very much.
There are a couple of classes that much of his interest and I am thrill to hear that.
Sebastian and I are very proud of him for his imput and taught work he puts towards it =).
TE AMAMOS!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Star Wars MANIA!
HER: I get to wear The SMILE , everytime I see this picture, so hope you are smiling too =). 
We decided to have this picture taken while we were at Magic Kingdom the weekend before Sebastian's birthday. Sebastian has become a HUGE fan of Star Wars and often wonders what it would take to become a Jedi. We posed one at a time and they "cropped" our faces into each of the characters. Sebastian as Anakin, Frank as Obi -Wan Kenobi, and I as Padme. Note -- Sebastian is still a little shorter than I in real life and that isn't Frank's real hair!
HIM: As you may know, inter alia, Sebastian has taken a serious liking to Lego Star Wars thanks to a Wii game by the same name. For his birthday, in addition to some super hero action figures and random Matchbox cars, we picked up a boatload of lego sets for him. His grandparents in Peru even got him the Lego police station. Most of the lego sets are for 7 year olds, but he loves treating the sets like 3D puzzles. We further incentivize him to complete his puzzles by reminding him that after he completes one set, he'll "unlock" the characters or special items that came with it, just like the Wii game. He responded really well and is currently working on a space ship "puzzle" so that General Grievous (a character from the game and movies) will return to find that his ship has been "fixed" by Sebastian.
His fascination with building is just one of the latest indicators that 1) Sebastian is very smart, and 2) Vanessa has done such a great job raising him. Sebastian is able to look at the numbered Lego instructions step by step and piece together the parts all by himself. This takes both patience and fine motor skills, as the pieces are usually quite small. We are so proud of him.
We decided to have this picture taken while we were at Magic Kingdom the weekend before Sebastian's birthday. Sebastian has become a HUGE fan of Star Wars and often wonders what it would take to become a Jedi. We posed one at a time and they "cropped" our faces into each of the characters. Sebastian as Anakin, Frank as Obi -Wan Kenobi, and I as Padme. Note -- Sebastian is still a little shorter than I in real life and that isn't Frank's real hair!
HIM: As you may know, inter alia, Sebastian has taken a serious liking to Lego Star Wars thanks to a Wii game by the same name. For his birthday, in addition to some super hero action figures and random Matchbox cars, we picked up a boatload of lego sets for him. His grandparents in Peru even got him the Lego police station. Most of the lego sets are for 7 year olds, but he loves treating the sets like 3D puzzles. We further incentivize him to complete his puzzles by reminding him that after he completes one set, he'll "unlock" the characters or special items that came with it, just like the Wii game. He responded really well and is currently working on a space ship "puzzle" so that General Grievous (a character from the game and movies) will return to find that his ship has been "fixed" by Sebastian.
His fascination with building is just one of the latest indicators that 1) Sebastian is very smart, and 2) Vanessa has done such a great job raising him. Sebastian is able to look at the numbered Lego instructions step by step and piece together the parts all by himself. This takes both patience and fine motor skills, as the pieces are usually quite small. We are so proud of him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)